A circuit arrangement which is reproduced in the document WO2005/011338 for a high-pressure discharge lamp has an operating part with a DC voltage source and an ignition part with a pulse source and a mercury-free halogen metal-vapor high-pressure discharge lamp. The discharge lamp and a secondary winding of an ignition transformer are connected in series in the ignition part. The primary winding of the ignition transformer is driven via a pulse source. A particularly low-loss material is preferred as the material for the ignition transformer core. After the discharge lamp has been ignited via the pulse source and the ignition transformer, the secondary winding is connected in series with the discharge lamp in the operating circuit.
Since the lamp current flows through the secondary winding during operation of the discharge lamp, this secondary winding has an undesirable inductance during lamp operation. Partial compensation for the inductance of the secondary winding can be achieved, according to the document cited above, in that a capacitor is connected in series with the secondary winding.
However, even when using the capacitor mentioned above, when the lamp is operated at high frequency, the inductance of the secondary winding still remains in the lamp circuit, thus resulting in losses both in the ignition transformer and in the transformer which produces the high-frequency lamp current.